Be part of budget conversation

Time is running out to tell Stirling Council your thoughts on their budget for next year.

The local authority launched its Big Budget Conversation engagement process for 2021/22 on December 23 2020 with the stark message that services must change to meet an £8million funding gap.

Transformation of how the council delivers services will continue in the years ahead, with a further £30million needing to be saved over the four years to 2024/25.

Residents are being asked to tell the local authority what matters most to them through an online survey on the new Engage Stirling platform, which closes on at midnight on Sunday, January 24.

Responses from the survey will be coupled with officer proposals and added to the responses from the recent Residents’survey and Locality Action Plans that have been developed throughout the year to provide a package to inform councillors’budget plans in the coming months.

Finance and economy convener Councillor Margaret Brisley said:“we’ve had hundreds of response so far and would ask everyone who can to get involved and take part in the survey.

We face a substantial budget gap of at least £8million next year and options for closing it are more limited than normal, given services are already not operating as usual due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The council has also incurred significant additional costs and loss of income in the current year because of the virus, and this is likely to continue into next year.

“Residents must be under no illusions - significant budget reduction measures will have to be considered to set a balanced budget for 2021/22 and time is running out for the public to have their say.”